The present disclosure relates to rack strap extension systems including vehicle-body-accessory spanning members for vehicle racks and methods for using the same.
Vehicle bike racks, or carriers, come in various configurations. For example, a common type of vehicle bike rack is described as a trunk rack and may be configured for installation at the rear of a vehicle, such as on, near, or adjacent the trunk of a sedan-type vehicle, or on, near, or adjacent the rear door of a hatchback- or minivan-type vehicle. Though generally described as trunk racks, they are not limited to being installed on vehicles with trunks. Often, a trunk rack is adjustable so that it can be configured to fit various vehicle types including both sedan- and hatchback-type vehicles. Trunk racks are generally installed using a series of straps, or webbing, that is secured to various points on the vehicle, such as one or more seams between a trunk or rear door and an adjacent portion of the vehicle's body, between a hinged window and an adjacent portion of a vehicle's body, or on another part of a vehicle body, such as an edge of a bumper. These straps are generally provided with a mechanism to tension the straps to secure the rack to the vehicle. The addition of one or more bikes or other equipment to the rack adds further tension to one or more of the straps. For example, Yakima sells a line of trunk racks under the YAKIMA JOE brand. Non-exclusive examples of trunk racks are also found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,997,116; 6,286,738; 6,386,407; and 6,422,443, which are incorporated herein by reference.
It is increasingly common for modern vehicles to include various aesthetic and/or functional body accessories or protrusions, such as (but not limited to) spoilers, fins, wings, ground effects, and the like. Such body accessories or protrusions may be designed, manufactured, and installed by the original vehicle manufacturer (i.e., the original equipment manufacturer or OEM), or they may be after-market products installed by the vehicle owner or a technician. Often, such body accessories or protrusions are non-structural, for example being constructed of nonstructural plastic. That is, they are often not designed to bear weight or to withstand forces other than typical wind forces created by normal driving conditions. Non-exclusive examples of vehicles that include OEM body accessories or protrusions on or adjacent the hatchback door of the vehicle include the 2008 MINI COOPER S manufactured by BMW and the 2005 SUBARU FORESTER 2.5 XT, both of which include what may be described as spoilers or fins.
Vehicles having non-structural body accessories or protrusions on, near, or adjacent the rear of a vehicle often interfere or prevent the use of a typical trunk rack because the straps used to secure the rack to the vehicle, when tensioned, would impart excessive forces to the body accessory or protrusion. For example, a vehicle-body accessory or protrusion in the form of a spoiler adjacent the top portion of the vehicle's rear door would be subjected to forces from a tensioned strap that secures the trunk rack to the vehicle, and that force imparted from the strap may damage the vehicle-body accessory or protrusion.